The Importance of Finding a Mentor

Most new graduates struggle when their first full-time job replaces eight hours per week of optional university lectures, with eight hours a day of compulsory work.

The transition from fun-loving student to educated professional involves a steep learning curve.

It’s good to remember this: a huge number of people before you – and around you right now – have been through the same challenges and succeeded.

The lesson in this article:

ASK friends, relatives, and colleagues to connect you with someone who can help you to navigate the unwritten rules of the industry where you’d like to contribute.

Knowledge is power. Mentors make you richer. Here’s an example:

At 23, Harry realised it would be fantastic to create a job site that can discover exactly who you are, to match you to exactly the right employer looking to hire for a specific vacancy.

Harry had recently completed a Master’s degree in Psychology and felt confident about this new challenge.

In the following 15 months, Harry writes a business plan, secures a start-up business loan, and invests thousands of hours, and thousands of pounds, to develop this new job site.

Harry creates a full version of the website, with 30+ pages, an appropriate logo, and a personality algorithm.

Harry meets a recruiter from a large public company, who provides insight that changes everything: including the fact that the resource must be “scientifically robust.”

Following a system upgrade, Harry was able to convince the Metropolitan Police Service and a large international bank to trial his service throughout August 2017. Without the contribution from the recruiter – who became Harry’s mentor – his job site might never have achieved commercial success.

An important lesson for everyone hoping to achieve success: Seek expert advice – as soon as possible.